Mornings on the Mall

Monday, September 9, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Legal analyst Joe diGenova, WMAL’s Redskins analyst Trevor Matich, Ken Cuccinelli and Washington Examiner’s Susan Ferrechio joined WMAL on Monday! 

5am – A/B/C Guns, impeachment push, border wall: What’s in store as Congress returns from recess

5am – D         DMVs Are Selling Your Data to Private Investigators. (Vice) – You gave them your data in exchange for a driver’s license. DMVs are making tens of millions of dollars selling it, documents obtained by Motherboard show. Departments of Motor Vehicles in states around the country are taking drivers’ personal information and selling it to thousands of businesses, including private investigators who spy on people for a profit, Motherboard has learned. DMVs sell the data for an array of approved purposes, such as to insurance or tow companies, but some of them have sold to more nefarious businesses as well. Multiple states have made tens of millions of dollars a year selling data. Motherboard has obtained hundreds of pages of documents from DMVs through public records requests that lay out the practice. Members of the public may not be aware that when they provide their name, address, and in some cases other personal information to the DMV for the purposes of getting a driver’s license or registering a vehicle, the DMV often then turns around and offers that information for sale. The Virginia DMV has sold data to 109 private investigator firms, according to a spreadsheet obtained by Motherboard. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has sold data to at least 16 private investigation firms, another spreadsheet shows. The Delaware DMV has data sharing agreements with at least a dozen investigation firms, and Wisconsin has around two dozen current agreements with such firms, other documents show.

5am – E         Whole Foods survey: millennials willing to pay top dollar when grocery shopping. (FoxBusiness) — A new Whole Foods survey found when it comes to millennials going grocery shopping, 80 percent said quality is what they’re looking for. Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed will spend more money if they can get high-quality foods. Another trend among millennials when grocery shopping is transparency. More than 65 percent of millennials emphasize the importance of food sourcing when they shop for food, especially when it comes to seafood and meat. Of those surveyed, a majority of millennials said they would gladly pay more money for products that have higher animal welfare standards and that are responsibly sourced. Much of that focus on sourcing may derive from the fact that many millennials are trying to eat healthier. In fact, 63 percent of millennials are starting or have already incorporated unprocessed or plant-based foods into their diets. Nearly seven in 10 millennials spent more on their food than they did on travel in the past year. Some attributed that to the fact that they considered themselves “adventurous” eaters and 60 percent said they cooked brand new dishes often. But when it comes to healthy ready-made meals, another thing millennials are looking for is how their food impacts the environment. A majority of millennials try to find food packaging that’s more sustainable. The survey found a majority of millennials are reading labels closely and are buying more organic food. Despite that, more than half of millennials found sticking to an alternative diet, such as Keto, Whole30, plant-based or vegan is too inconvenient so they are willing to pay more for more convenient options, such as ready-made meals.

6am – A         TALIBAN TALKS OFF:

• Trump says he canceled secret Camp David meetings with Taliban leaders, Afghan president. “Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday. They were coming to the United States tonight,” Trump tweeted. “Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations. What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?” Trump continued: “They didn’t, they only made it worse! If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway. How many more decades are they willing to fight?” […]
• The U.S. currently has around 14,000 troops in Afghanistan.
• Pompeo defends Trump inviting Taliban to Camp David for peace talks

6am – B/C     UPDATE ON HURRICAN DORIAN:

• Hurricane Dorian death toll at 44, but officials, residents know it will rise dramatically. (Fox News) – FREEPORT, Bahamas – The grim toll of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas reached 44 on Sunday, according to the Caribbean nation’s government, which expects the number of dead to rise. Minister of Health Duane Sands told The Miami Herald the official death toll represents confirmed deaths and is tabulated as the bodies arrive at the morgue. The majority of the deaths reported occurred in the Abaco Islands. In the other hard-hit area, Grand Bahama, officials attribute eight deaths to Hurricane Dorian. Residents say the official death toll is substantially lower than the reality. Fox News arrived in Grand Bahama early Saturday morning and learned of at least 18 deaths in the eastern part of the island. In one small settlement known as High Rock, residents say 17 are dead.
• Dorian topples crane in Canada, causes widespread blackouts as storm marches north. (Fox News) – After causing devastation across the Bahamas and wreaking a path of destruction along North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast, Dorian blasted the Canadian Maritimes Saturday with powerful winds that caused a massive crane to crash into a building under construction amid torrential rain. Dorian, now a post-tropical cyclone, is located about 55 miles east-northeast of Anticosti Island in the eastern part of the country Sunday morning and had top sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was heading to the north-northwest, roughly up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The storm is still bringing hurricane-force winds over portions of Nova Scotia, and conditions are expected to deteriorate in Newfoundland later Sunday. Dorian made its fourth landfall Saturday evening about 15 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a city of about 400,000 people. The storm has left about a half a million customers without power, and left Halifax bearing the brunt of the impact.
• Hurricane Dorian: 15 kilos of cocaine wash ashore; Cocoa Beach police tell beachcombers to be alert. (Florida Today) – Cocoa Beach police are asking beachcombers in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian to be cautious about suspicious packages after a duffel bag stuffed with 15 kilos of cocaine washed ashore over the weekend. The find — worth at least $300,000 — came before Dorian’s violent stirrings in the Atlantic led to a single brick of cocaine being found along a beach in Melbourne on Tuesday. “There is a possibility that more will come onshore. Especially now with these conditions. It could be coming from anywhere,” said Manny Hernandez, spokesman for the Cocoa Beach Police Department. “We’re telling people to be cautious and not to grab or handle it because if there is an opening, it can go into your pores and you can overdose,” he said.  The duffel bag packed with the carefully wrapped bricks of powdered cocaine were found along the surf by a beachgoer about 5:30 p.m. Friday near the Sixth Street beach entrance. The beachgoer called the police to tell them about the suspicious package.
• CNN FORGETS THAT THEY SAID ALABAMA WAS A POSSIBLE TARGET OF DORIAN
• NOAA backs Trump, disavows NWS Birmingham on Dorian track. (WWBT) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is backing President Donald Trump on his unsupported claim that Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian, disavowing a statement from the National Weather Service in the state. NOAA issued a statement Friday supporting Trump’s claim that Alabama would be hit “much harder than anticipated” by Hurricane Dorian, and pointed to evidence that didn’t support that claim. From Wednesday, August 28, through Monday, September 2, the information provided by NOAA and the National Hurricane Center to President Trump and the wider public demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama. This is clearly demonstrated in Hurricane Advisories #15 through #41, which can be viewed at the following link. The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.”
• CNN’s Don Lemon defends importance of ‘Sharpiegate’ coverage: ‘This is a news story’ (Fox News) – CNN anchor Don Lemon offered a passionate defense of what he had referred to as “Sharpiegate,” the controversy of the Hurricane Dorian map President Trump presented in the White House that included a marking near Alabama on a map of the storm’s projected path. Trump has been criticized for tweeting Sunday morning that Alabama was among the states expected to be affected by the hurricane. Forecasts at the time from the National Weather Service, however, projected that the state would be spared. The president has since doubled down both on Twitter and in the White House, where he had a map displayed showing the trajectory of Dorian with an extension drawn with a black Sharpie so that it included a portion of Alabama. Mollie Hemingway calls out CNN, hits media’s ‘unbelievable’ coverage of Trump’s ‘Sharpie-gate’ (Fox News) – Following President Trump’s claim that Alabama could have been affected by Hurricane Dorian, The Federalist editor Mollie Hemingway said on “Media Buzz” Sunday that the media’s nonstop coverage of the event was uncalled for — and she specifically called out CNN. “As people die, CNN and other media outlets are focusing on what, exactly?” she asked. “You almost get the feeling that the media decided at the beginning of the week, they were going to make Trump’s handling of the hurricane a major story.”

6am – D         SANFORD/SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS:

• SANFORD ANNOUNCES BID: Mark Sanford announces Trump primary challenge: GOP ‘has lost our way’  (Fox News) – Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced Sunday that he is running for president as a Republican, becoming the latest to challenge President Trump in the GOP primaries. Sanford said the Republican Party is facing an identity crisis, and he wants the GOP to take a look at itself and do some soul searching. “I think we have to have a conversation about what it means to be a Republican,” Sanford told “Fox News Sunday,” claiming the party “has lost our way.” Sanford specifically made reference to the debt, deficit and government spending. Other conservatives expressed concern about these issues when Trump helped Congress pass a spending bill that increases spending caps and suspends the debt ceiling, allowing for more government borrowing until July 31, 2021. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blasted his colleagues at the time, saying it “marks the death of the Tea Party movement in America.” Sanford also challenged Trump’s tactics when it comes to trade, saying that engaging the world when it comes to trade is “one of the hallmarks of the Republican Party.”
• SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRIMARY: The South Carolina Republican Party executive committee votes to skip a presidential primary in 2020. Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) The South Carolina Republican Party executive committee voted Saturday to skip a presidential primary in 2020, leaving an open path for President Donald Trump to win all of the Palmetto State’s delegates without competition. The move reflects Trump’s strong support within the GOP establishment and the party’s voters as he heads into his reelection campaign, despite the fact that some Republicans have announced they are running or are considering a challenge. Among those considering a run is one of South Carolina’s own — former Republican governor and congressman Mark Sanford, who is expected to make a decision on his run in the coming days. Drew McKissick, the state party chairman, said the move will save South Carolina taxpayers over $1.2 million and cited that as an incentive for moving forward with the decision.
• South Carolina GOP appears to violate own rules in canceling primary for Trump. (The Hill) – The South Carolina Republican Party appeared to violate its own rules on Saturday when the party’s executive committee voted to cancel next year’s primary election. The executive committee voted nearly unanimously to cancel the primary because President Trump had drawn “no legitimate primary challenger,” the state party’s chairman, Drew McKissick, said. Trump has drawn two former Republican elected officials as challengers. Former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who served two terms as governor of South Carolina, is also considering joining the field. Any of those candidates may decide to sue the South Carolina GOP, some Republican insiders said, because Saturday’s vote ran contrary to the state party’s rules. The rule that governs South Carolina’s presidential preference primary allows the state party to cancel the primary only by a vote at the state party convention within two years of the subsequent primary. South Carolina Republicans did not vote to cancel the primary at either of its last two conventions.

6am – E         MOCO UPDATE:

• IN A LETTER, MOCO EXECUTIVE ELRICH AND MOCO COUNCIL RIP CUCCINELLI AND MEDIA FOR DRAWING ATTENTION TO THEIR SANCTUARY POLICIES: “There has been a lot of naccurate information spread by the White House, President Trump, Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli, local and national conservative news outlets and neo-Nazi sympathizers regarding our criminal justice system and its process,” a statement said. “These individuals and organizations should be ashamed for spreading false information seeking to establish a baseless, illogical and xenophobic connection between a person’s failure to obtain legal status and their propensity to commit a sex crime.”
• Cuccinelli challenges Maryland county exec to sanctuary city debate amid spate of sex crimes. Cuccinelli called the Nazi implications “out of bounds in civil society” and challenged Elrich to a debate – even going into detail about the precise terms of how such a debate would take place. “If MontCo Chairman Elrich thinks the sanctuary policy they are so proud of is so good, I challenge him to a debate on the subject. Neutral location (e.g. cspan [sic] or webcast w/no audience present). 1 hr total, 2.5 min open & close, w/alternating 5 min blocks determined by lot,” he said.
• ELRICH RESPONDS IN INTERVIEW WITH WASHINGTON POST: “It’s a stunt,” Elrich shot back in an interview Friday. “I might debate him if he’d agree with the statement that Montgomery County is not a ‘sanctuary city’ and that Montgomery County is not protecting criminals. . . . The guys in jail would probably not feel very protected.”

6am – F         Chipotle can’t get customers to stop stealing the Tabasco, so it’s embracing it. (Fast Company) — The burrito brand can see into your dark, twisted, hot sauce-covered soul. It’s nothing fancy. There’s just something about the condiment bar at Chipotle and its self-replenishing pile of disposable forks, beige napkins, and Tabasco bottles (in three colors! three!). So as I strut up wearing a halo granted to me by my ethically sourced burrito, the worst part of my soul seizes its chance to act. I grab an Amazon rainforest of napkins. I hunt for the newest, preferably unopened, bottle of hot sauce. I snag a fork—just in case. Don’t judge me, because Chipotle definitely isn’t. As part of the chain’s back-to-school initiative, Chipotle is offering free delivery on Sundays in September. And in the first few dozen digital orders in select markets, Chipotle will include a free “Things You ‘Borrow’ Kit” that’s chock full of the things Chipotle knows people regularly steal. “Chipotle recognizes that it goes through over 5.5 million bottles of Tabasco sauce annually, some of which go ‘missing’ in locations near college campuses along with its utensils,” the company explains in a press release. “To make it easier for students considering ‘borrowing’ these goods, Chipotle will give the first 50 digital orders in select markets a free ‘Things You “Borrow” Kit’ with their delivery order.” The company will also  offer kits in limited quantities, for free, online. The kit includes a pile of napkins, some forks, and two Tabasco sauces. But that passive-aggressive set of finger quotes around “borrow” is what really makes this box sing.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia – discussed the House Judiciary’s continued impeachment push and his thoughts on Montgomery County’s handling of crime by illegal immigrants.

• IMPEACHMENT PUSH: House Judiciary panel preparing vote to define Trump impeachment probe. (Politico) – The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to take its first formal vote to define what Chairman Jerry Nadler calls an ongoing “impeachment investigation” of President Donald Trump, according to multiple sources briefed on the discussions. The panel could vote as early as Wednesday on a resolution to spell out the parameters of its investigation. The language is still being hammered out inside the committee and with House leaders. A draft of the resolution is expected to be released Monday morning. […] In early August, Nadler publicly declared that his committee had already launched impeachment proceedings despite taking no formal vote to do so. The claim sparked confusion, even among some Democrats, who sought clarification as they faced questions from progressive constituents about the status of the House’s effort to recommend Trump’s removal from office. The committee has also repeatedly described an ongoing “impeachment investigation” in court filings submitted during the recess, all part of legal efforts to compel from witnesses testimony about allegations that Trump attempted to obstruct an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. By declaring impeachment under active consideration, the committee has sought to convince judges of the urgency of providing Democrats with the evidence they’re seeking. But Republicans on the committee protested loudly that impeachment proceedings require a vote, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s resistance to a formal impeachment inquiry — despite her support of the Judiciary Committee’s legal filings — has complicated the House’s posture further.
• Rep. Collins points out problems with Dems defining impeachment probe: ‘This is really pathetic’ (Fox News) – Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are looking to formally define what Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has referred to as impeachment proceedings against President Trump, leading ranking member Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., to torch members for stumbling over themselves throughout the process. Collins pointed out what he believes are problems with how Democrats have conducted their investigation, claiming that they have acted outside the boundaries of House rules and may have made misrepresentations in court filings. “They have portrayed themselves in just a terrible way over the last eight months and they keep digging their hole,” Collins told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
• MOCO’S SANCTUARY POLICIES: Since July 25, Montgomery County Police have arrested at least seven confirmed illegals over alleged sex crimes. The arrests all came after County Executive Marc Elrich signed an executive order designating the county a “sanctuary” jurisdiction. The order states that no county agency – including police departments – can cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration agents are barred from entering secure portions of county jails and must take custody of illegal immigrants in public areas, such as jail parking lots. Amid national coverage of the sex crimes, the County Council responded by lumping critics such as Cuccinelli in with “neo-Nazi sympathizers” and people who spread “false information.” “There has been a lot of naccurate information spread by the White House, President Trump, Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli, local and national conservative news outlets and neo-Nazi sympathizers regarding our criminal justice system and its process,” a statement said. “These individuals and organizations should be ashamed for spreading false information seeking to establish a baseless, illogical and xenophobic connection between a person’s failure to obtain legal status and their propensity to commit a sex crime.”

7am – B/C     Buttigieg suggests pro-life Christians rethink abortion, consider life to begin at first ‘breath.’ Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign closed out the week by suggesting Christians reconsider the abortion debate around a child’s first breath. The Indiana mayor sat down with “The Breakfast Club” on Friday to discuss his quest to secure the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination when the conversation turned to abortion. Mr. Buttigieg reaffirmed his pro-choice stance before framing it as perhaps more biblically sound than most people might think. “[Pro-life Christians] hold everybody in line with this one, kind of piece of doctrine about abortion, which is obviously a tough issue for a lot of people to think through morally,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “Then again, there’s a lot of parts of the Bible that talk about how life begins with breath, and so even that is something that we can interpret differently.” Host “Charlamagne tha God,” whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, added: “I think that if you’re a man who’s against abortion then you haven’t gotten the wrong woman pregnant.”

7am – D         INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst – shared his takeaways from the Eagles 32-27 win over Redskins.

7am – E         ELITIST CHEVY CHASE FREAKS OUT OVER ‘EXCESSIVE BARKING’ IN DOG PARK:

• This is peak elitist woke Chevy Chase in MoCo: To determine the extent of the barking and the parking, the board paid $1,300 for a woman with a graduate degree in epidemiology to spend weeks studying the behavior of the dogs and their humans. (per Washington Post article titled “‘NO EXCESSIVE BARKING’: A Chevy Chase dog park divides the rich and powerful.”)
• Entire Superrich Town Loses Its Damn Mind Over a Dog Park. An exorbitantly wealthy town is reportedly using its dog park as a proxy war to play out long-standing, simmering aggressions, and the pets clearly deserve better. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that in the crazy rich enclave of Chevy Chase Village, in Maryland, some residents are up in arms over the purported noise and disarray produced by the recent addition of a dog park, which the community spent $134,000 to build last fall. According to the Post, the drama has got messier than, um, a park made for dogs: “[A]fter about a month, signs decrying the barking of those dogs began appearing around the park. The village police started receiving almost daily calls about the noise, mostly from one particular neighbor whose house backs up to the park. By spring, the tension had escalated so much that the Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers called a public hearing. Then another in June. And another in July.” To give you a sense of how insulated and elite this community is: Chevy Chase Village is one of the 17 wealthiest communities in the country, with a population that’s 95.9 percent white and a median income of $460,000.

8am – A         Interview – KEN CUCCINELLI – Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

• IN A LETTER, MOCO EXECUTIVE ELRICH AND MOCO COUNCIL RIP CUCCINELLI AND MEDIA FOR DRAWING ATTENTION TO THEIR SANCTUARY POLICIES: “There has been a lot of naccurate information spread by the White House, President Trump, Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli, local and national conservative news outlets and neo-Nazi sympathizers regarding our criminal justice system and its process,” a statement said. “These individuals and organizations should be ashamed for spreading false information seeking to establish a baseless, illogical and xenophobic connection between a person’s failure to obtain legal status and their propensity to commit a sex crime.”
• Cuccinelli challenges Maryland county exec to sanctuary city debate amid spate of sex crimes. Cuccinelli called the Nazi implications “out of bounds in civil society” and challenged Elrich to a debate – even going into detail about the precise terms of how such a debate would take place. “If MontCo Chairman Elrich thinks the sanctuary policy they are so proud of is so good, I challenge him to a debate on the subject. Neutral location (e.g. cspan [sic] or webcast w/no audience present). 1 hr total, 2.5 min open & close, w/alternating 5 min blocks determined by lot,” he said.
• ELRICH RESPONDS IN INTERVIEW WITH WASHINGTON POST: “It’s a stunt,” Elrich shot back in an interview Friday. “I might debate him if he’d agree with the statement that Montgomery County is not a ‘sanctuary city’ and that Montgomery County is not protecting criminals. . . . The guys in jail would probably not feel very protected.”

8am – B/C     2020 NEWS:

• Kamala Harris Replies ‘Well Said’ To Supporter Who Calls Trump ‘Mentally Retarded,’ Later Claims She Didn’t Hear It
• BIDEN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONVENTION:
  • Joe Biden accidentally referred to “Donald Hump” in New Hampshire today and then told his audience it had been a “Freudian Slip“  
  • Joe Biden: “This president has more in common with George Wallace than George Washington.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO –  chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner

• Guns, impeachment push, border wall: What’s in store as Congress returns from recess: What’s ahead in Congress this
• South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced Sunday during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that he is running for president as a Republican